1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology of separating and purifying the functional components of Antrodia cinnamomea. More specifically, the invention relates to the use of supercritical fluid technology to separate and purify the functional components of Antrodia cinnamomea. 
2. Description of Related Art
Antrodia cinnamomea is a parasitic fungus which only grows on the inner heartwood wall of lauraceae plants, such as Cinnamomum kanehirae). Because of its antioxidant property, blood pressure lowering effect, and immune enhancing activity, Antrodia cinnamomea It can be used not only for food but has extensively been utilized in the treatment of drug poisoning, diarrhea, abdominal pain, high blood pressure, and cancer.
The active components of Antrodia cinnamomea include triterpenoids, polysaccharides, adenosine, vitamin, protein, peptide, nucleic acid. The triterpenoids can mainly be divided into ergostane-type triterpenoids (zhankuic acid A, zhankuic acid C, antcin A, and antcin K) and lanostane-type triterpenoids (dehydroeburicoic acid and dehydrosulphurenic acid). Previous research showed that the antcin A in the extract obtained from the fruiting body of Antrodia cinnamomea could suppress the activity of leukemia cells in rats and zhankuic acid A and zhankuic acid C exhibited strong antitumor effects on cancer cells. Dehydrosulphurenic acid and dehydroeburicoic acid have also been demonstrated to possess antineoplastic activity, which could enhance apoptosis of cancer cells without affecting normal human cells. The presence of polysaccharides components in Antrodia cinnamomea has also experimentally proven.
The conventional methods of extracting the active components triterpenoids and polysaccharides from Antrodia cinnamomea, such as those described in the China patent CN 102614195 A and the United States Patent 20100210869 A1, use ethanol solution, normal hexane solution, and ethyl acetate solution to extract the ergostane-type and lanostane-type triterpenoids from the fruiting body of Antrodia cinnamomea. The U.S. Pat. No. 7,994,158 B2 was the first to use water or organic solvent (for example, ethyl acetate, hexane, alcohols, and chloroform) extraction. The water or organic solvent extracts obtained then is concentrated and purified using silica gel and Sephadex. The United States Patent 20100227404 A1 describes a method that use ethyl acetate, ethanol, and water to extract polysaccharides from the fruiting body of Antrodia cinnamomea. In addition, the Taiwan patent 1299665 uses ethanol to extract polysaccharides from the mycelium of Antrodia cinnamomea. 
From the above mentioned it can be concluded that the conventional methods of extracting triterpenoids and polysaccharides from Antrodia cinnamomea are time-consuming and require a large amount of organic solvent. Unwanted chemical reactions may occur between the organic solvent and the functional components during the extraction process. In addition, the removal of solvent using heat evaporation after the extraction may have detrimental effects on part of the functional components. Furthermore, there are concerns over trace amount of solvent may remain in the final product. Therefore, it is clear that there is still room for improvement.